Who is the Terrorist?

I want to start of this post with a quote from a comment on "What is the "War on Terror"";  "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.  So what you and I claim to be terrorist acts are not viewed as acts of terrorism by those who commit them.  So why are we justified in retaliation but so called terrorist are not?
And who decides what terrorism is, and how do we as humans rid ourselves from it's grip?"   This quote exemplifies the ultimate question; which country instigated actions which as a result led to acts of terror being carried out?  I wholeheartedly agree with the comment that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.  Why did the terrorists who carried out the attacks of 9/11 do so in the first place?  What instigated their belief's and actions?  I would claim that the U.S. is partly to blame for this.  The U.S. has for decades been overly concerned with securing world wide oil reserves for themselves when at all possible.  Until recently with only China overtaking us, we were the top consumers of oil products in the world, hence our need to ensure that we have enough to sustain us into the far distant future.  Did a terrorist attack against this country cause us to "intervene" in foreign affairs before 9/11?  No.  The U.S. has a track record of constant intervention in foreign affairs, most of the time with concerns of energy security being hid by a veil they say is "humanitarian".  If you look at all the atrocities and genocide being committed throughout the African continent, we normally only concern ourselves with those that are directly related to oil or countries that have oil reserves that could be tapped and secured for our use.  This has been going on for decades before the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred. 

Now I will never say that 9/11 was not a tragic event that changed our country, it was.  But did we have it coming?  I would say based on our intervention in foreign affairs and occupation of Muslim lands, we did.  This is not at all to advocate that it was just or that the terrorist's were right in attacking us, but the coin has two sides and too often we only concern ourselves with the side of the coin that has our concerns on it.  In the United States, we too often are blind to our military's motives or actions taken in foreign countries and their impacts on the citizens there.   In addition to military efforts, we routinely send money to countries, Pakistan, Israel, etc. in an effort to have them support our agendas.  If the U.S. is for once able to concern itself with the problems on its own turf, then maybe terrorism will diminish.   At this point, will terrorism ever go away?  Probably not because there are so many pent up grievances that it will take years for them to diminish and disappear if they ever do at all.  So why do the terrorists not succeed more often in their attempts at retaliation?  Because the U.S. still has the most powerful and best trained military in the world and will retaliate ten-fold to any action taken against us. 

I would say that if you strip away the veil of sovereignty and national identity, any military or military combatants who enter another country and perpetrate attacks against them is a terrorist in the eyes of those being attacked.  The only way to rid ourselves from the grip of terrorism is to use the military for the purpose it was originally intended for, the protection of our sovereign land and nation.  Our country used to have the right idea in the theory of isolationism.  If we once again retreat from our world-wide presence and commit ourselves once again to being isolationsists, then terrorism I garuantee will diminish.  Do I think that this will ever happen again?  No, especially in a world with dwindling food reserves, oil reserves, and increasing populations vying for more of each.  Our government will never deem it viable to retreat saying that it would be signaling defeat when in reality it would be giving up our grip to a certain extent on foreign oil reserves, production, and supply.   There is no good answer to any question posed here because someone will find fault with any answer given.   Terrorism in one form or another has been around for centuries and will continue to do so as long as humans exert their power over others.  The most powerful will seem victorious and the less powerful will be viewed as terrorists when they retaliate.  Both are at fault and for us to claim we are innocent is a bogus claim. 

In the end, what are we to do?  I say we need more of our population to question our governement's motives and actions.  Too few of us do so while the rest of population simply eats whatever the government feeds them, be it good, bad, or poisonous.   I am a patriot of the American ideal, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Do I always support the government, absolutely not, and it seems that the more you know, the more you question, and the less you support.  But living in the U.S., I have every right to question my government's actions and motives whether or not it will do any good.  Those who don't question relinquish part of their freedom granted to them by our constitution.  Our country was founded because of an over bearing government in a foreign land.  When will our government become too over bearing to its citizens?  When will we step up to the plate and take back the freedom that is rightfully ours?  Alas, I babble.  So today, I am going to live part of the American dream, cutting the grass in my yard that is mostly owned by the bank and I am sure by some Chinese conglomerate, but it is my American dream and I will live it till they strip it away from me.